RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2020-#42 :: Tuesday, 10 March 2020

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2020-#42 :: Tuesday, 10 March 2020
A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. The contents do not necessarily represent the views of IERES or The George Washington University.
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1. Valdai Discussion CLub: It’s Dangerous to Normalise the Panic: Why Irrationality Is a Bigger Enemy Than Coronavirus. Human history is full of mass psychosis. We are initiated in a mythical environment which is still in our veins and manifests from time to time. The only difference today is the global mass media, instant mobile communications, the internet and social media, writes Kancho Stoychev, President of the Gallup International Association – valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/covid-19-mass-psychosis-and-return-to-rationality/
2. The Foreign Service Journal: Dmitri Trenin, The World Through Moscow’s Eyes: A Classic Russian Perspective. To fathom the Ukraine dispute, a Russian scholar and head of the Carnegie Moscow Center shares what he thinks U.S. diplomats need to know about Russia.
3. Kremlin.ru: On memory of Great Patriotic War, Stalin and Hitler. (TASS interview) – en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/62963
4. TASS: In future, Presidential power in Russia will not be tied to single person, says Putin.
5. Kremlin.ru: Speech at State Duma plenary session. [en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/62964] [Complete text in Russian: http://kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/62964]
6. TASS: Putin says zeroing out previous office terms possible if approved by Constitutional Court.
7. www.rt.com: Putin has no objection to possibility of running for president in 2024 – rt.com/russia/482739-putin-parliament-initiative-term/
8. Bloomberg: Putin Sets Path to Stay On as Russia’s President to 2036.
9. www.rt.com: Parliament greenlights Putin’s proposed amendments to Russia’s Constitution. – rt.com/russia/482744-parliament-putin-constitution-amendments/
10. Meduza: The forever president . Russian lawmakers amend constitutional reform legislation to keep Vladimir Putin in power.
11. Forbes: Kenneth Rapoza, Russia Proposes ‘Putin Forever’, Will Probably Get It.
12. Twitter: Ben Noble on the Putin-to-Putin transition.
13. Moscow Times: Mark Galeotti, Medvedev’s Security Council Role Makes Him And it More Interesting. Putin appears to have given his ex-premier the chance to demonstrate his political virility.
14. TASS: Izvestia: COVID-19 impacts global economy more than other 21st century epidemics.
15. TASS: Vedomosti: Russians stockpiling food amid coronavirus fears.
16. Intellinews.com: Dmitry Dolgin, Russia bracing for oil shock: initial thoughts. Oil prices have collapsed following the failure of OPEC+ to extend its production cut deal, but Russia has enough in reserves and a flexible currency to weather the storm.
17. Meduza: Black Monday. The ruble is nosediving thanks to a coronavirus-triggered oil price collapse. Is Russia spiraling into another economic crisis?
18. TASS: Russian economy is strong enough to get through volatility in oil market – Kremlin.
19. www.rt.com: Who will blink first? Russia in better position to win oil price standoff with Saudi Arabia – rt.com/business/482712-saudi-arabia-russia-oil-conflict/
20. Oilprice.com: Russia Can Live With $25 Oil For Years.
21. The National Interest: Nikolas Gvosdev, The Great Oil War of 2020 Has Begun. Can Russia Win? Russia enters this oil price war with two overarching objectives: drive U.S. producers out of business, and expose Riyadh to the limits of American support. Will Putin prevail?
22. AFP: Russia reaches out to OPEC as Riyadh opens oil taps.
23. Intellinews.com: The ruble’s value tumbles in Russia’s game of geopolitical chicken. Russia’s budget loses $1bn in revenues from each $4 fall in the price of oil, but the budget gains RUB70bn for each ruble the exchange rate moves above the target rate of RUB65.7 to the dollar.
24. Meduza: Viktor Katona: The free ride is over, America.
25. Russian International Affairs Council: Konstantin Bogdanov, Not-so-Nuclear War.
26. RFE/RL: U.S. Official: New START Treaty Should Cover Russian Weapon Systems Under Development.
27. The American Conservative: Scott Ritter, How Turkey Lost A Battle Of Wills, And Force, To Russia. Erdogan talked tough, but in the end had to surrender gains to Moscow and Damascus.
28. Bloomberg: Russia Seeks ‘Good Relations’ With Taliban as U.S. Troops Exit.
29. The National Interest: Diana Kadi, Crimea After Six Years. Crimea is no longer a part of Ukraine but it is unclear whether it has become part of Russia.
30. FlightGlobal: Unintentional missile hit on MH17 ‘irrelevant’ to murder charge: prosecutor.
31. TASS: One of four suspects on MH17 crash case denies his responsibility – attorney.
32. Washington Post: Ilya Timtchenko, Joe Biden’s rise is the last thing Volodymyr Zelensky needs right now. What will happen when Washington suddenly cares about Kyiv again?
33. New York Times: Russia Trying to Stoke U.S. Racial Tensions Before Election, Officials Say. Russian intelligence services are trying to incite violence by white supremacist groups to sow chaos in the United States, American intelligence officials said.
34. TASS: Trump will not come to Russia for Victory Day celebration in May.
35. History Extra (BBC): Operation Barbarossa: 9 popular myths busted. Christer Bergström dispels many myths surrounding the campaign. Here, writing for History Extra, he explores nine of the most popular misconceptions.
36. Josh Wilson: COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Update. (Re Russia)

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